Appalachian Power wants 800 MW of battery storage in Virginia

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• Appalachian Power Seeks 800 MW Virginia Storage: The utility issued two RFPs — one for up to 500 MW, another for up to 300 MW — of grid-scale battery energy storage in Virginia, with projects prioritized for commercial operation by March 31, 2030, under the state's Clean Economy Act. PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
• Key Capture Energy Raises $300M for Storage: Standard Chartered backed the battery storage developer with $300 million in financing earmarked for deployments across NY-ISO and MISO markets, bolstering the company's position in the Northeast and Midwest. Energy Storage News. Read More: Energy Storage News.
• Ohio Court Opens Door to Out-of-State Wind: The Ohio Supreme Court upheld certification of six wind farms in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa to sell renewable energy into Ohio via approved transmission assessments. Ohio Capital Journal. Read More: Ohio Capital Journal.
• LG Energy Solution Starts Michigan Production: The company began manufacturing LFP and NMC battery cells at its Lansing, Michigan, factory, producing large-format cells for both grid-scale energy storage systems and electric vehicles. Energy Storage News. Read More: Energy Storage News.
• 1 GW Louisiana Solar Project Draws Opposition: Orion Renewable Energy Group's $1.7 billion Persimmon Energy Center, a 1,000 MW solar and energy storage project spanning 4,700 acres in North Calcasieu Parish, faces pushback from residents and state lawmakers over land use and rural character. PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.

Solar & Storage

The sheer volume of battery storage activity this week deserves attention. Appalachian Power's 800 MW procurement in Virginia is structured as two separate RFPs — 500 MW and 300 MW — both requiring connection to the PJM transmission system. The procurement is driven by Virginia's Clean Economy Act requirements, and the 2030 commercial operation deadline gives developers roughly three and a half years to site, permit, and build. For storage developers already active in PJM, this is a large, bankable opportunity from a regulated utility with a statutory mandate to buy. Read More: 800 MW procurement.

Financing is flowing to match. Key Capture Energy's $300 million raise from Standard Chartered targets NY-ISO and MISO deployments, two wholesale markets where battery economics have improved as grid operators lean on storage for capacity and ancillary services. That a major international bank is writing a check this size for a pure-play storage developer tells you something about how lenders view revenue certainty in those markets. Read More: $300 million raise from Standard Chartered.

On the supply side, LG Energy Solution's Lansing factory is now producing both LFP and NMC cells for grid-scale storage and EVs. This follows coverage earlier this week of the facility's opening and adds a concrete milestone: cells are rolling off the line. Meanwhile, a separate 3 GWh lithium-ion battery factory is taking shape in North Carolina with $100 million in DOE funding support. Two domestic cell factories producing simultaneously, with a third under construction — the domestic storage supply chain is no longer theoretical. Read More: producing both LFP and NMC cells, $100 million in DOE funding support.

New Jersey added to the procurement drumbeat with a 150 MW behind-the-meter storage proposal from its Board of Public Utilities under the Garden State Energy Storage Programme. The BTM focus is notable: it targets a different slice of the market than utility-scale RFPs, pushing storage into commercial and residential settings where demand-charge management and resilience drive the business case. Read More: 150 MW behind-the-meter storage proposal.

In the solar project pipeline, Louisiana is emerging as a battleground for utility-scale siting. Oakland-based Orion Renewable Energy Group's proposed Persimmon Energy Center — 1,000 MW of solar and storage on 4,700 acres in North Calcasieu Parish, with a $1.7 billion price tag — faces opposition from residents and state representatives over land use and property values. The developer has offered tree buffers and wildlife-friendly fencing, but it's the same friction playing out across the rural South: large projects that promise tax revenue and clean power collide with communities wary of industrial-scale land conversion. Separately, a 375 MW solar project near Moss Bluff in the same parish — the $440 million Cajun Crescent Energy Center spanning 3,656 acres — has already faced rejection, underscoring how local politics can differ project by project even within the same county. Read More: Persimmon Energy Center, 375 MW solar project.

Smaller community solar deals continue to fill gaps. In New Mexico, SunShare and CSolPower cut the ribbon on the 6 MWdc Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden in Santa Fe, which reached commercial operation on July 1. The 31-acre project will power nearly 2,000 homes and serves income-qualified subscribers with agrivoltaic practices and pollinator habitats — a model that helps blunt community opposition by demonstrating dual land use. In New York, PowerBank reacquired a 13.9 MW community solar portfolio valued at $32.5 million, a sign of consolidation in a market where smaller developers continue to cycle assets. Read More: 6 MWdc Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden, reacquired a 13.9 MW community solar portfolio.

Wind Energy

The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a ruling that could reshape how Midwestern states source wind power. By upholding the certification of six out-of-state wind farms — in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa — to sell renewable energy into Ohio, the court confirmed that qualifying resources can deliver wind power across state lines via approved transmission line assessments. For developers, this means wind projects in high-resource Plains states now have a legal pathway to serve Ohio load, expanding the addressable market beyond Ohio's own siting constraints. The ruling matters for investors pricing offtake risk: a broader customer base for out-of-state wind reduces concentration in any single state's regulatory environment. Read More: upholding the certification of six out-of-state wind farms.

Policy & Markets

California's legislature is moving multiple bills to expand balcony solar, community solar, and virtual power plant programs. The state is trying to revitalize its solar industry after changes to net metering policy slowed rooftop installations. For developers, the VPP legislation could be particularly consequential — aggregating distributed resources into grid-dispatchable blocks has been a persistent regulatory challenge in California, and legislative backing would remove some uncertainty. Read More: expand balcony solar, community solar, and virtual power plant programs.

Across the Atlantic, Europe installed 36 GWh of battery storage in 2025, pushing total operational capacity past 100 GWh for the first time, according to PV Magazine. Germany, the UK, and Italy led, while Ukraine entered the top five markets with a fivefold increase — a reminder that energy storage is as much a resilience technology as a grid-balancing one. The European Commission also adopted budget-flexibility guidelines letting member states finance solar, heat pumps, and battery storage under revised fiscal frameworks through 2028. For U.S. manufacturers eyeing export markets, that fiscal loosening could drive incremental European demand. Read More: PV Magazine, adopted budget-flexibility guidelines.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Virginia Storage RFP Responses: Developers will begin shaping bids for Appalachian Power's 800 MW battery procurement; watch for interconnection queue positioning in PJM and which storage integrators target the split 500 MW / 300 MW structure.
• Louisiana Siting Fights: With a 1 GW project and a 375 MW project both facing community resistance in the same parish, Calcasieu's local government decisions could set a precedent for utility-scale solar siting in the Gulf South.
• California Solar Legislation: The progress of balcony solar, community solar, and VPP bills through the state legislature will determine whether California can reverse the rooftop slowdown triggered by net metering changes.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Battery storage is pulling capital, procurement mandates, and factory output simultaneously — Appalachian Power's 800 MW RFP, Key Capture's $300 million raise, and LG's Michigan production all landing in the same week suggest storage has crossed from opportunistic to structural in U.S. power markets.